Saturday, May 31, 2014

On a Guilt Trip?

Photo by: anankkml

If you’re a
sensitive person, at some time or another you may have felt guilty—whether
or not you were guilty.

When I was in the sixth grade, the teacher at school
spoke at length about someone who had cheated on a test. She said she knew who
had done it, and that it would be better for that person if he came to her
before she went to him. I remember feeling guilty, even though I’d never
cheated. I had that kind of a conscience.

Some people mentally
review their life scenariosand pick them apart, saying to themselves,
“What if I had . . . ?”

I knew a man who was
a soldier in Vietnam. He felt survivor’s guiltover some of his horrible
wartime experiences. Why did his buddies die, and not him?

Emergency
personnel sometimes feel that they have not done enoughto help accident
victims.

Some people blame
themselves for hurting another person—whether or not they actually did.

Others feel guilty
for entertaining sinful thoughts, even if they never actually do the act.
(Entertaining sinful thoughts is sin.
Matthew 9:4; James 4:5)

And then, there
are those who are culpable and know it.

There are sins of
omission—not doing what they know they should. (James 4:17)

God doesn’t want us to feel guilty—for long.
The Lord has provided a way for us to deal with guilt and live joyfully.

Let’s explore several scenarios.

You know you did
wrong.No doubt about it, you did it. You did it on purpose. You have
sinned. —There’s forgiveness in Christ. If you are not yet a Christian, you
need to turn from your sin and accept Jesus’ payment for your sins on the
cross.In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7). If you are already a
born again Christian, you need to confess your sins and forsake them. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

You think maybe
you might have offended someone or not worded something in the right way.You
think you might have sinned.—Get a clear conscience by talking to the Lord.
(See 1 John 1:9, above) Once you’ve confessed what you think you might have
done wrong, leave it with the Lord, Who promises to cleanse us. Rest in His
forgiveness. Do not go back over that scenario in your mind again. (Philippians
4:8)

You really did
offend someone. —Make it right. Confess to the other person and ask him for
forgiveness. Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be
clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble (1 Peter 5:5). Also see Matthew 18:15 which speaks of the offended person
getting things right with the person who offends him. Once you are right with
your friend, go on in the joy of the Lord.

The preaching was
hard. It made you remember all the things you did when you were younger. It
made you feel guilty and horrible inside. It even made you feel guilty about
things you never did. —Do not let yourself feel guilty about sins that are
already forgiven: those committed before you accepted Christ, those you’ve
already confessed. Don’t lie to yourself about things you never did. As far as the east is from the west, so far
hath he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12). For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more
(Hebrews 8:12, also 10:17). If God has removed our sins, and if He doesn’t
remember them, then there’s no reason for us to go back to them—ever.

You imagined a
sinful act in your head.It could have been lustful or about doing
something you know is wrong. It might have been ugly thoughts about someone.
You enjoyed thinking about it. You didn’t act on your thoughts, but it was
definitely a sin in your mind. —I once heard a pastor’s message about what a
person should do in this case. He said, “Public sins should be confessed
publicly. Private sins should be confessed privately.” If the sin is in your
mind only, it’s still sin, and you should pray and ask the Lord for
forgiveness. You should also repent (turn away from that thought process.) You do not go to the person you thought
badly about and say, “I thought ugly thoughts about you, and I want you to
forgive me.” That hurts the other person, someone you hadn’t offended before.
Yes, your thoughts were wrong. Go to the Lord and confess your sin. He will
forgive you. (1 John 1:9)

You have sinned
publicly.It could be anything from a bad testimony, such as public
drunkenness, to immorality.—Confess your sin to the Lord, and ask for His
forgiveness. Turn from your sin. Change your ways. Confess your sin before the
church body. Public sins cause shame to the Name of Christ, and they must be
confessed and forsaken. There may be consequences of your sin. Thankfully, God
forgives and restores. If you are in a church congregation where someone has
confessed a public sin, the Bible says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are
spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit
of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted (Galatians 6:1).

The Apostle Paul is perhaps the best
biblical modelabout how to deal with past
sins and guilt. Remember, when he was named Saul, he was persecuting the true
church in the name of religion. He calls himself a Pharisee and was the son of
a Pharisee—someone trying to be so good as to merit heaven. He was Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a
Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness
which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:5-6).

How did Paul handle his past?

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is
through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith . . . .

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus
(Philippians 3:7-9, 13-14).

It wasn’t easy, but Paul put his past behind him. He put
Stephen’s death and the responsibility for putting people in prison out of his
mind. Oh yes, he knew he did those things. But he accepted God’s beautiful
forgiveness and set goals. He wanted to know God, to serve Him, to get the
prize!

God doesn’t want
us to walk around feeling guilty. He wants us to deal with our sins by
confessing them to Him (and others, if necessary), turning our backs on them, and then putting them behind us.
God does!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi and welcome to In the Way! I explore many subjects, striving always to present them from a biblical viewpoint. Feel free to browse the tabs at the top for general categories. If you don't see what you're looking for, use the search button below. I'm a pastor's wife, mother of two, grandma, teacher, author, and blogger. I live in a quaint little village in the beautiful Basque region of northern Spain.

I Belong To

Please Link Back

About Me

Lou Ann is a young-thinking grandma with an infectious laugh. She rejoices in nature and other beautiful things--including people! She's an avid writer and practices several other artistic expressions, like singing when no one's listening, calligraphy, photography, and even "serious art." Lou Ann loves her Lord Jesus Christ, family, and her church.